Intensive Care Nursing in South Africa (Report‪)‬

Various challenges face intensive care nursing in South Africa. This article describes the health care system of South Africa, with particular attention to intensive care nursing. It also describes the current state of intensive care and the challenges facing this sub-specialty of critical care. Intensive care nursing (ICN) is a specialist area of nursing that involves caring for patients who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses or injuries, while at the same time offering comfort and support to their family members. The environment of an intensive care unit (ICU) is highly technological, requiring the nurses to have a broad knowledge base and a high level of decision-making skills as they care for patients and their families who are in vulnerable circumstances. Intensive care nursing is constant, complex, detailed health care provided in various acute life-threatening conditions. (1-2) Intensive care, coronary care, cardiothoracic care and emergency care are all sub-specialty clinical areas of critical care (CC), having the common element that patients admitted to these areas are in a health crisis that requires the collaborative care of a multidisciplinary team. (3)